Cleveland: Downtown living sees growth

CLEVELAND -- The number of people now calling downtown home is soaring. The occupancy rate is almost 100 percent, and there are plenty more developments on the way.

One company in Cleveland has been managing apartment properties since the 1980s and has seen the boom, bust and now resurgence of downtown living.

Renovations are happening near PlayhouseSquare to create a high-end apartment complex called the Residences and the Hanna. The project will complete a vision of offering downtown living in the Theater District.

"It's going to add that 24 hour foot traffic to the streets that retail needs that restaurants need," Douglas Price, CEO of K&D Group says. "And PlayhouseSquare is really a cool place to live."

The Hanna will have 102 apartments, both single and two-bedrooms, with granite countertops and washer/dryers in each unit.

With the demand for living space, the project is already a success before the first apartment is even finished.

"We are over 50 percent leased and our first unit won't be delivered until July," Price continues. "We will be done in October, so I would say by November 30 this building will be full."

Those signing leases are everyone from young professionals to older residents.

Nearly 1,000 more housing units will enter the downtown market in the next 18 months.

"Things have changed people don't want to wait an hour in traffic any more to get to their jobs, so if you work downtown these people want to live downtown," Price adds. "So it's creating its own neighborhood that is just growing upon itself."

The K&D Group is also converting 230 suites at Reserve Square into apartments.

"It's been extremely exciting to see what is happening right now," Price says. "I think we are in one of those 25 year booms that occurs only every so often. We are fortunate to be right in the middle of it."